Undertale doesn't belong to me.

Asriel's visit to Snowdin had never meant to change his life. It had simply been a vacation of sorts. The goat monster had just passed his role as Head of the Royal Guard to a close friend and former trainee, Undyne. He'd decided that the role had cost him too much regarding energy, so he gave it to the monster he felt deserved it most. Anyway, he loved Snowdin. The happy town was always a great place to escape to whenever he felt too stressed. He'd simply ask Asgore if he could go out for a few days, get permission, and enjoy his stay.

Asriel had just checked into the hotel there that belonged to a rabbit and her young daughter. He pulled his luggage in and sat it down by one of the nightstands. He would've gotten a discount if he hadn't insisted to the owner that it wasn't necessary, and that he could pay the fee like a normal customer. He laid in the large bed for a few moments, relishing in the wonderful feel of the place. Everything felt so homey, so comfortable. He could never get tired of Snowdin.

After he'd had his fill of lying in the bed, Asriel got up and left the hotel. He stopped by the little shop nearby and made small talk with the rabbit there who had sold him a cinnamon bun. He ate it quickly, said his goodbyes, and moved onto the library. He was used to folks looking at him with astonishment and admiration, so the stares he experienced while checking out a thick leatherbound book didn't affect him whatsoever. He took the book and left.

Asriel noticed two skeletons trekking about. One was tall and loud, while the other was small and comedic. He watched them for a few minutes, curious. The tall one seemed to notice him, and his cheekbones turned slightly pinkish as he spoke to the smaller one. The goat monster decided to introduce himself, although he knew the duo likely already knew who he was.

"Greetings," he said once he was in front of them. "My name is Asriel Dreemurr. Who might you two be?"

"I'm Sans," the small one replied. "Sans the skeleton. This is my little brother, Papyrus."

"Oh, wowee!" Papyrus squealed, as if he were a child. "I'm finally meeting the Prince!"

"He's been wantin' to meet'cha from the amount Undyne says about ya," Sans explained.

"It's an honor to meet you, Papyrus," Asriel said with a smile, which caused Papyrus to go slightly redder. "Say, why don't you two come and visit New Home sometime?"

"In a big city?" Sans said. "Nah. Not my type'a thing. But Paps can go, if he wants."

"You want to, Papyrus?" Asriel asked. "We could even eat somewhere fancy. My treat."

"Oh, dinner with the Prince...!" Papyrus said. "Yes, I'll go!"

Asriel felt good about treating monsters. He'd done this many times: spent a little time with a random stranger, then mostly never spoke to them again except small talk during accidental encounters. For some reason, he was regarded even higher than Asgore concerning social factors. Perhaps because I don't wander around all the time and talk to everyone? he thought. I mostly stay in the castle unless it's for business or for a vacation. Monsters basically think that talking to me is more valuable than talking to Dad. And that's... strange, to say the least.

"Glad to hear it!" Asriel chuckled. "I'll be in Snowdin for the next two days, so you can come anytime after that."

"Why're you in such a small town anyway?" Sans asked, seemingly out of curiosity. "Ya get bored in that giant city?"

"Nah, I just like vacationing here," Asriel responded. "It's strange, you know. Somehow this is the first time I've seen you two, despite coming here every so often."

Sans averted his gaze. "Heh... yeah," he murmured, then brightened as if nothing had happened. "So ya wanna go to Grillby's? You'll be treatin' my brother, after all."

"No, thank you," Asriel refused politely with an apologetic glance. "I just ate."

"Well, it's been nice seein' ya anyway," Sans said. "C'mon, Paps. We gotta go scout for humans."

"Ah, yes!" Papyrus agreed. "Human scouting, as I like to call it. Well, Prince Asriel, I've gotta go!"

"Goodbye, you two," Asriel said.

After they left, he continued on with his day and didn't have a second thought about them until he saw them just as night was settling in. The artifical lights on the ceiling were gradually dimming, creating the illusion of the sun setting. They were entering their little house.

"Hello!" Asriel greeted them, waving his right paw. When they turned to look at him, he told them, "You have a good night. See you in the morning."

"Yes, see you!" Papyrus said cheerfully, lifting an orange-gloved hand to wave enthusiastically.

Sans grinned, as usual, and waved before going inside with his brother.

Nothing about those skeletons was supposed to be important. They were quirky, yes, but that didn't mean anything special. Asriel had simply thought of them as simple citizens that wouldn't change him whatsoever, but he'd realized how wrong he was soon enough.

A week after Asriel had returned back to New Home, he heard a knock on the castle door. Papyrus stood there, sporting his usual outfit.

"Hello, Prince Asriel!" he greeted.

"Good to see you, Papyrus," Asriel said, glad he'd remembered the name. "It's about dinnertime. Are you here for that treat I offered?"

"Yes, I am!" Papyrus replied.

"Well, it's good I haven't eaten yet then," Asriel chuckled. "Let me grab my gold, and we can head on out."

He headed back to his room and grabbed his handmade leather pounch off his desk. Gerson, a good friend of his father's, had it specifically made for the Prince by a professional leathersmith for his eighteenth birthday. "This is better than that little cloth bag," he'd advised.

The pouch was quite large, and that was because Asriel usually carried a good amount of funds with him. While he stored most of it at home, he wanted to make sure he never ran out while off on business or vacation. That was one of his paranoias, strangely.

Asriel stuffed it in his coat pocket. Unlike his father, who wore a giant purple cloak, he wore a simple outfit consisting of dark blue jeans and boots with a coat over a sweater. He dressed warmly, but that was fine by him; he could never be too warm.

Asriel led Papyrus to his favorite restaurant, one owned by a family of snake monsters. It was a mystery how they knew how to cook without hands or paws, but their food was best. They got seated somewhere, and they ordered their drinks. After the waiter went off to get them, Asriel began making small talk with Papyrus. It began with 'how is Sans', 'what have you been up to', etc. However, it got weirder the longer it continued.

"So how's the human scouting been going?" Asriel asked.

"Oh, successf- unsuccessful," Papyrus quickly corrected himself.

Asriel's eyes widened. "Successful?" he echoed, catching the original word. "How so, Papyrus?"

Papyrus suddenly seemed worried. "Oh, well... we thought that we'd caught a human, but it was just that dinosaur kid playing around," he explained.

"But surely you'd know by now that the child wasn't an actual human, so why'd you originally say that you had?" Asriel asked, suddenly suspicious. Had another human wandered into the underground?

Papyrus's phone suddenly went off. "I'm sorry, I have to take this," he said, quickly excusing himself to outside.

Papyrus was suddenly acting uncharacteristic, and it only furthered Asriel's suspicions. Would one of his own citizens truly hide the fact that another human had fallen underground, especially when they only needed one more soul to be free? It made no sense. While the skeleton was gone, the waiter returned with the drinks. Asriel was glad that Papyrus returned just in time to order his meal. After the waiter left again, Asriel decided to pry more.

"Who called?" he asked.

"Oh, a friend," Papyrus replied.

"And why'd they call?"

"Just to ask about something."

"What's that?"

"A... a room in Waterfall."

"Waterfall?" Asriel's brows raised. "Undyne, is it?"

"N-no," Papyrus stuttered nervously.

"That ghost, Napstablook?"

"Not them, either."

Asriel had grown more and more suspicious. "Who then?" he interrogated.

Papyrus had somehow begun to sweat. He remained silent for the rest of the time, even when Asriel changed subjects. After the bill had been paid, Asriel offered to take him back to the castle.

"I could give you the grand tour," he added, hoping to get a chance to squeeze more information out of his guest.

"No, Sans wants me back," Papyrus said. "Sorry."

Asriel nodded slowly. "Nice to see you again, Papyrus. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Asriel turned and began heading back to the castle, but he looked over his shoulder to see Papyrus rapidly walking the opposite way. He hesitated. Am I really doing this? he asked himself. Yes. Yes, I am. He slunk into the shadows, as the artificial lights had darkened by now, and followed the tall skeleton from a distance. He stepped lightly as to not send tremors through the hard gray ground.

It wasn't long before Papyrus made it to the Riverperson's boat in Waterfall, and he asked for a ride back to Snowdin. The boat was taking off just as Asriel got there. He sighed and anxiously waited. When the Riverperson returned, he hitched a ride as well. He hopped onto the snow, hearing it crunch underneath his boots. He ran over to where the skeletons' house was, and noticed that all lights were off. He sighed.

You're hiding something, Papyrus. I know you are. But what could it be? And why not tell even your Prince?